六祖大師法寶壇經 1.20

1.20

大師告眾曰：「善知識！菩提自性，本來清淨，但用此心，直了成佛。善知識！且聽惠能行由，得法事意。惠能嚴父，本貫范陽，左降流于嶺南，作新州百姓。此身不幸，父又早亡。老母孤遺，移來南海，艱辛貧乏，於市賣柴。時，有一客買柴，使令送至客店；客收去，惠能得錢，却出門外，見一客誦經。惠能一聞經語，心即開悟，遂問：『客誦何經？』客曰：『《金剛經》。』復問：『從何所來，持此經典？』客云：『我從蘄州黃梅縣東禪寺來。其寺是五祖忍大師在彼主化，門人一千有餘；我到彼中禮拜，聽受此經。大師常勸僧俗，但持《金剛經》，即自見性，直了成佛。』惠能聞說，宿昔有緣，乃蒙一客，取銀十兩與惠能，令充老母衣糧，教便往黃梅參禮五祖。

The Great Master addressed the assembly, saying: 'Good friends! Bodhi svabhāva is originally pure; simply use this mind and directly realize buddhahood. Good friends! Listen for a while to the origins of Huineng and how he obtained the Dharma. Huineng’s strict father was originally from Fanyang; he was demoted and exiled to Lingnan, becoming a commoner in Xinzhou. In this body I was unfortunate, and my father passed away early. My elderly mother was left solitary, and we moved to Nanhai, impoverished and in hardship, selling firewood in the marketplace. Once, a customer bought firewood and instructed me to deliver it to an inn. The customer received it, and having received my money, Huineng stepped outside the gate, where he saw a customer reciting a sūtra. As soon as Huineng heard the words of the sūtra, his mind opened to awakening. He then asked, "What sūtra is the guest reciting?" The customer said, "The Diamond Sūtra." I asked again, "From where did you come, upholding this scripture?" The customer said, "I came from the Dongchan Monastery in Huangmei County, Qizhou. That monastery is where the Fifth Patriarch, the Great Master Ren, abides and teaches, with more than a thousand disciples. I went there to pay homage and heard and received this sūtra. The Great Master often encourages monastics and laypeople alike, saying that merely by upholding the Diamond Sūtra one will see into one's nature and directly realize buddhahood." When Huineng heard this, having conditions from previous lives, a guest gave Huineng ten taels of silver to provide for his elderly mother's clothing and food, and instructed him to go straight to Huangmei to pay homage to the Fifth Patriarch.'